The pipeline to the US, which was frequently visited by hundreds of thousands of immigrants, from the dangerous Panama jungle to the Texas-Mexican border, suddenly became quiet when President Donald Trump took office.

Immigration enforcement officials from both the US and Mexican border and abroad have reported a surprising decline in illegal immigrant encounters over the past few weeks. This downward trend has been praised primarily for Trump’s return to the White House and his initiative to strengthen border security, ensuring that many immigrants are not even plagued by illegal attempts to enter the country. (Related: “Extraordinary”: El Salvador agrees to recruit convicted criminals deported from us)

The passage of illegal immigrants through the Darien Gap, a jungle region between Panama and Colombia, fell 94% in January compared to the same month last year. According to Data released by the National Immigration Services in Panama. A total of 34,839 illegal immigrants crossed the Darien gap in January 2024, dropping to just 2,158 when Trump returned to the White House last month.

“I think people are less likely to pass through Darien when they know so well that they’re going back home,” says Alan Beitel, a lifelong Panama citizen, and the Daily Color News Foundation. He spoke to. “So the carrots disappear and there’s no reason for them to head north.”

The Darien Gap, a vast jungle region that spans approximately 40 miles and 100 miles long, between Panama and Colombia, was the most important transport area for illegal immigrants heading to the US amid the border crisis under President Joe Biden. . Over 500,000 immigrants crossed the Darien gap on a 2023 northbound journey. This was the highest year in the history of illegal immigrant encounters at the US-Mexico border.

The thick jungle and the existence of organized crime historically made police Darien difficult. The majority of those who crossed the area were Latin Americans, such as Venezuelans and Ecuadorians, but many Africans and Asian immigrants were able to take the route to the United States illegally.

Organized crime has created billions in the process as it smuggled immigrants across Darien to the borders of the southern US.

Venezuelan citizens have armed with the knowledge that the Venezuelan government refuses to accept deportation from the US to create the majority of migrants trekking Darien, but the Trump administration has more of the more Once realistic, the outlook for the deportation of these migrants has become even more realistic. Push normally Karaka accepts the once repeated Venezuelans.

The decline in foot traffic from Darien coincided with Marco Rubio’s visiting director, who went to Panama, secured a major infrastructure contract with President Raul Murino, and ultimately the region reduced the impact of China.

Murino took office in 2024 on a promise to cut down immigration through his country. He has since signed an agreement with the United States to help repay illegal immigrants captured by Panama authorities.

“He’s always been a Pro-us,” Surse Pierpoint, a third-generation Panama, told DCNF about Murino. “And the fact that it was Marco Rubio’s first trip here was a government that was dyed the claim that “this is Monroe Doctrine 2.0.” Marco Rubio has now come to state this explicitly. ”

Rubio was at Tarmac in Panama City on Monday. And was observed Deportation of Colombian citizens was stopped by Panama’s law enforcement agencies. The State Department argued that such repatriation flights serve as a major deterrent for other illegal immigrants.

The January intersection in Darien coincides with a decline in illegal immigrant encounters along the US-Mexican border. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks on January 29th It has been reported Immigration concerns have fallen by 55% since the previous week.

Top Shot – US President Donald Trump signs executive orders at the White House Oval Office in Washington, DC on January 20, 2025 (Photo by Jim Watson/AFP)

“This trend shows that our strengthening border security measures will produce results,” Banks said of the sharp decline. “With more boots on the ground, we have a big impact on border security.”

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is I’ll check it again A consistent decline in immigrant encounters along the tropical border reported a total of 446 illegal intersections on Monday. There was to put that number in perspective Over 12,600 Illegal crossing of the border on December 1st, 2023.

In his final month at Biden’s office, his daily encounters at the US-Mexican border were around 1,520 people a day. According to Customs and Border Security (CBP) data.

The once large sectors for illegal transitions have dropped to near zero activity. Border Patrol Agent It has been reported In December 2023, there will be an average intersection of around 1,800 people every day in the El Paso Border Patrol Sector. On Monday, that number was just 98 encounters. Similar drops have been reported in Rio Grande Valley, Big Bend and all other major sectors along the US-Mexico border.

“Texas is experiencing a decline in illegal border crossings,” DPS spokesperson Chris Olivares told DCNF. “In January 2024, Texas reduced illegal border intersections by 85%.”

“This is the deployment of Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS staff working to build infrastructure along the Texas/Mexico border, as well as criminal smugglers, cross-border crime gangs, and criminals. This is due to a large part of Governor Abbott’s Abbott General Royal border mission, including the deployment of DPS staff with criminal execution. “Illegal immigration,” Olivares continued. “The combination of Texas border missions and federal government’s federal immigration policies and implementation of internal affairs at the federal level will bring the number of illegal border crossings to less than 500 across the southwest border, including Texas, Arizona and California. It’s reduced.”

Since re-entering, Trump has implemented numerous reforms and initiatives aimed at strengthening border security and establishing infrastructure to quickly detain and enforce illegal immigrants living in the country. The administration deployed troops at the border, represented numerous federal agencies with immigration enforcement agencies, and secured a huge number of detention space abroad.

In addition to militarizing the US side of the border, Trump is also hoping to force Mexican President Claudia Sinbaum to send 10,000 members of her own National Guard to strengthen border security efforts. It successfully sprinkled the threat of tariffs. A roughly similar victory was made at the Northern border, when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to tighten border security to avoid wiping out tariffs on his country’s exports.

Under the auspices of US-Canada deals, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government agreed to launch it It’s completely innovative Initiatives to tackle border security, including the appointment of Emperor Fentanyl, the designation of cartels as a terrorist, spending on organized crime and drugs, and 24-hour surveillance of the US-Canadian border.

Trump’s election victory in November – With his promise to be tough on illegal immigrants, many immigrants chose to turn around rather than appearing on the southern border.

“There are few people arriving at the border, and Venezuela, Colombia, knows they have to reorganize themselves, and I think there will be a new sheriff in a US town and things will change. I will,” Beitel said.

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